For only a quarter billion dollars, you can have your own NHL expansion team

The Globe and Mail's Paul Waldie reports that the NHL inadvertently revealed its fee for franchise expansion and/or relocation in documents pertaining to the Phoenix Coyotes' bankruptcy:

July 17, Globe and Mail: The value of an NHL expansion fee is about $265-million (all currency U.S.), according to an estimate filed in an Arizona court as part of the battle over the future of the Phoenix Coyotes. The estimate came from the club's majority owner, Jerry Moyes, who put the club into Chapter 11 protection and wants to sell it to Canadian Jim Balsillie. There are no details as to how Moyes made the calculation.

The figure surfaced in a letter that the NHL's general counsel, David Zimmerman, sent to lawyers representing Balsillie and Moyes. In the letter, dated July 2, the league asked for information pertaining to Balsillie's request to move the club to Hamilton.

Zimmerman wants census data for Hamilton and financial statements for Copps Coliseum along with renovation plans for the arena.

Balsillie has submitted a $212.5-million bid for the Coyotes but it can't be considered until the bankruptcy court holds an auction on Aug. 5 for buyers who will keep the club in Phoenix. So far only Chicago businessman Jerry Reinsdorf has made a proposal, worth up to $148-million. If that auction doesn't yield a decent bid, a relocation auction will be held on Sept. 10.

If Balsillie is allowed to move the club, he will have to pay a relocation fee to the NHL. Based on Moyes's calculation, Balsillie would pay around $52.5-million. That is far below what the NHL has suggested.